This invention relates generally to a controller for railway locomotives and, more particularly, to an improved controller including a single drive handle which is capable of controlling propulsion power and braking power for locomotives.
It is known in the art to employ manually actuated electro-mechanical controllers to control many of the operating functions of diesel locomotives and the like. For example, it is known to employ a controller comprising three manually actuated control handles, each operatively connected to one of three sets of control cams. The first set of control cams are mounted on a first control shaft and serve to actuate propulsion power control contacts. The second and third sets of control cams are located on a second control shaft and serve to actuate braking power and reverser control contacts, respectively. This known controller, however, has been found to be undesirable because it includes three control handles instead of a preferred number of two.
It is also known in the art to employ manually actuated electro-mechanical controllers having only two control handles to control many of the operating functions of diesel locomotives and the like. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,490 discloses a controller which utilizes only a throttle/dynamic brake handle and a reverser handle. This two handle controller, however, does not employ a first control shaft for mounting propulsion power control cams, and a second control shaft for mounting braking power and reverser control cams. As a result, the design of this two handle controller is substantially different from the existing three handle controller, discussed above, and does not disclose a mechanism which could be used easily to convert the existing three handle controller to one having two handles.
As a result, there is a need for a new design which adapts the existing three control handle controller, discussed above, to one having only two control handles.